Target identification from a pool of targets using a new adaptive transmitter-receiver design

ABSTRACT

A design methodology for jointly optimizing the transmit waveform and receiver filter for multiple target identification is presented in presence of transmit signal dependent clutter like interference and noise. The methodology is applied and illustrated for various multiple ‘target ID’ problems in presence of transmit signal dependent clutter like interference and noise. The resulting correct target classification is significantly better than that achieved by a conventional chirp or any other transmit waveform. Unlike the classical radar case, the choice of transmit pulse shape can be critically important for the detection of extended targets in presence of additive channel noise and signal-dependent clutter.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a divisional of and claims the priority of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/743,368 titled “Target Identification From a Pool of Targets Using a New Adaptive Transmitter-Receiver Design” inventor listed as S. Unnikrishna Pilai, filed on Dec. 22, 2003 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,038,616, (“parent application”). Please note that the inventor's name should actually be Unnikrishna S. Pilai, i.e. the “S” should be the middle initial.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

The present invention is based upon work supported and/or sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) Special Project Office under SBIR Contract No. DAAH01-02-C-R074 and administered by U.S Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMSAM), Redstone Arsenal, Ala.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to improved methods and apparatus concerning target detection, such as target detection by radar.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The problem of jointly optimizing a transmitter and a receiver so as to maximize the output signal-to-interference plus noise ration (SINR) for target detection is an important one in radar and many communication scenes where clutter or multipath is a leading source of interference.

In radar scenarios, the total interference signal is comprised of clutter returns, interference signals from jammers and noise. The clutter return is transmit signal dependent and it may or may not dominate the remaining interference signals depending on the target range location. For targets that are nearby clutter dominates the total return, whereas for far field targets the returns from jammers and multipath is the leading source of interference. The interference caused by jammers might be deliberate multipath returns of a white noise source which in essence amount to colored noise with unknown spectrum at the receiver.

In the classical detection problem, the receiver outputs are passed through a bank of filters to obtain a single output and at a specified instant, this output is used to decide the presence or absence of a target. The problem is to design the optimal transmit-receiver pair so as to maximize the output signal-to-interference plus noise ratio (SINR) at the decision instant. In this context, for a given target and clutter/noise scene, the optimum transmit signal shapes as well as the receiver structure for maximizing the output detection performance is of crucial importance as discussed in (1) S. U. Pilai, H. S. Oh, D. C. Youla and J. R. Guerci, “Optimum Transmit-Receiver Design in the Presence of Signal-Dependent Interference and Channel Noise,” IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 577–584, March 2000, and (2) J. R. Guerci and P. Grieve, “Optimum Matched Illumination-Reception Radars,” U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,125, June 1992, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,175,552, December 1992.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

At least one of the problems addressed in this patent application is the following: from a known set of targets, only one is present in a collection of data at any time. The collection of data typically also contains transmit signal dependent interference and noise. The received data is passed through a set of receiver filters. One of the problems addressed here is to design a single transmitter waveform of given energy and duration, and a set of receivers so as to maximize the correct target classification by maximizing the output SINR in an overall sense.

In the present invention, in one or more embodiments, the optimum transmitter-receiver design procedure for target detection is extended to the target identification problem, whereby a single transmit waveform is generated that optimally separates the target output waveforms in some appropriate sense. A received return is passed through a plurality of matched filters and the largest output at the specified time instant is used to identify a target present in the data. In what follows, the design of the optimum transmitter-receiver pair for the identification problem is carrier out.

The proposed target identification method can ensure that specified targets are correctly identified and simultaneously can discriminate all objects present in a scene. The following are at least some of the potential benefits of using an optimal transmitter-receiver waveform design strategy (1) Enhanced target detection, (2) Enhanced target ID, (3) Improved target discrimination, and (4) Dynamic interference suppression in wireless applications.

A set of possible target waveforms are given. This set can consist of (i) individual targets that are physically present one at a time or (ii) two or more targets that are physically present at the same time forming a new target. Each such configuration gives rise to a target waveform. For example, consider the case where there are only two targets. However they can be present separately or together. The later is treated as a third target and hence the pool of targets in this case is considered as three. At any time only one of them will be present in the scene of interest. A transmit signal is used to interrogate the unknown target and its return from the target gets contaminated by clutter (transmit signal dependent interference) and additive noise. The total received signal is passed through an appropriate set of receiver units. At a pre-determined instant, the receiver corresponding to the largest output is chosen to indicate the actual target present in the scene. The problem is to design the transmit waveform, and receiver filter banks so that for each target in the data, the corresponding receiver output has the maximum among all the receivers at the decision instant.

The strategy of the invention has the following parts:

-   (i) The received data is first passed through a custom designed     whitening filter so that the total interference gets transformed     into white noise. The whitened filter also transforms the target     waveforms (modified target waveforms). -   (ii) Optimum receiver structure to detect signal buried in white     noise is the classical matched filter. Matched filters for each of     the modified target gives rise to the matched filter bank. -   (iii) Combining the above two steps, we obtain the optimum receiver     filter bank. This completes the receiver design part. -   (iv) When the k-th target is present, the k-th filter output must be     larger than all other outputs at the decision instant. The     separation between these outputs is used to generate a discriminant.     The final step is to maximize this discriminant by varying the     transmit waveform. -   (v) The transmit waveform has prescribed energy and duration.     Optimization of the above distance-discriminant gives rise to an     integral eigen-equation whose dominant eigenvector is the desired     transmit waveform.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a diagram of an embodiment of the present invention for providing optimum target detection when there is clutter and noise;

FIG. 2 shows a diagram of an embodiment of the present invention which provides for automatic target identification in a multiple target scene;

FIG. 3 shows a diagram of a whitening filter;

FIG. 4 shows a diagram of an embodiment of the present invention which provides for automatic target identification in a multiple target scene;

FIG. 5A shows a diagram of simulation trials of receiver output using a transmit waveform and a companion receiver in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 5B shows a diagram of simulation trials of receiver output using a conventional chirp transmit waveform and a companion receiver in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a possible target 16 (unknown) from a pool of targets. The pool of targets may include, for example, one or more airborne objects, such as one or more flying airplanes or one or more airborne missiles. The target signal q(t) may be comprised of a plurality of target signals such as q₁(t), q₂(t), . . . , q_(M)(t), where M equals the total number of targets. Typically only one of the M targets will be present in any typical situation. However the exact type and nature of the target present is unknown. That needs to be determined from the receiver output. Although only one target is present the user would not known which one is present. The challenge is to determine the exact nature of the target by observing the receiver output. It may be known that the subject target is one of a known possible pool of targets. For example, we may know that the subject target is either a commercial airplane or a fighter jet, and the task may be to determine whether the target is a commercial airplane or a fighter jet.

FIG. 1 also shows the time spectrum 12 of a transmit signal f(t). The transmit signal f(t) is supplied to an input 14 a of a transmitter filter 14. The transmitter filter 14 has outputs 14 b and 14 c. The transmitter output filter P(ω) is of known frequency characteristics. The transmitter output filter 14 filters the transmit signal f(t) to form a filter modified transmit signal at outputs 14 b and 14 c. The filter modifier transmit signal at outputs 14 b and 14 c may be the same signal. The filter modified transmit signal from output 14 b is transmitted through the air and impacts with a target 16. The filter modifier transmit signal from output 14 c is transmitted through the air and impacts with clutter 18.

The target 16 acts on the filter modified transmit signal, to form a target modified signal which is shown in FIG. 1 as being supplied to input 26 a of a summation device 26. The clutter 18 acts on the filter modified transmit signal to form a clutter modified signal which is shown in FIG. 1 as being supplied to input 26 b of the summation device 26. In addition, the environmental noise 24 as shown in FIG. 1 as being supplied to the summation device 26. In practice, the target modified signal, the clutter modified signal and environmental noise typically combine together without the need for a summation device 26. However, the summation device 26 is shown for explanation purposes. A combination signal comprised of the target modified signal, the clutter modified signal and environmental noise is formed at an output 26 c of the summation device 26. The combination signal is supplied to an input 28 a of a bank of matched filters 28. The bank of matched filters 28 may have a transfer function h(t). The transfer function h(t) may be comprised of h₁(t), h₂(t), . . . , h_(M)(t), where M is the number of targets.

The bank of matched filters 28 may include filters 104, 106, 108, and 110, shown in FIG. 2, having transfer functions h₁(t), h₂(t), h_(i)(t), and h_(M)(t), respectively. The bank of matched filters 28 would typically include M filters for M targets.

The combination signal at input 28 a of the bank filters in FIG. 1, is named r(t) and can also be called the received waveform or received signal. The combination signal or received signal r(t) is supplied to the input 28 a of the bank of filters 28. The combination signal or received signal r(t) is then supplied to each of the inputs of each of the plurality of filters 104, 106, 108, 110, and the other filters of filters 1 to M, which are not shown. For example, combination or received signal r(t) is supplied to each of inputs 104 a, 106 a, 108 a, and 110 a of filters 104, 106, 108 and 110, respectively, as shown in FIG. 2. Each of the filters, such as filters 104, 106, 108, and 110 acts upon the received signal r(t) with the appropriate filter's transfer function to form a modified received signal at its output. For example, filters 104, 106, 108, and 110 each act upon the received signal r(t) with transfer functions h₁(t), h₂(t), h_(i)(t), and h_(M)(t) to form first, second, third, and fourth modified received signals at outputs 104 b, 106 b, 108 b, and 110 b, respectively. The bank of filters 28 may have an output 28 b which is comprised of outputs 104 b, 106 b, 108 b, and 110 b, and a further number of outputs, where the total number of filters and corresponding filter outputs is typically equal to the number of targets. FIG. 2 also shows switches 112, 114, 116, and 118 which ensure that only one output of the outputs 102 b, 106 b, 108 b, and 110 b is active or connected at any given time.

The target associated with the filter corresponding to the largest amplitude for its modified received signal output is declared to be present in the data r(t) 26 c. For example, if the amplitude of the first modified received signal at output 104 b of the filter 104 is greater than the amplitudes of the second, third, and fourth modified received signals at outputs 106 b, 108 b, and 110 b, and of any other modified received signal at any other output, then the first target is declared to be present in the data r(t) 26 c.

In accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention the transmit signal f(t) and the transfer functions h_(i)(t), k=1, 2, 3, . . . M for the filters 104, 106, 108, 110, etc. are jointly selected so that in the presence of a given clutter spectrum G_(c)(ω), such as spectrum 20 shown in FIG. 1, and noise spectrum G_(n)(ω), such as noise spectrum 30 shown in FIG. 1, the probability of correct target detection is maximized.

In accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention H_(k) represents the hypothesis that the k-th target is present in the scene or diagram 10 in FIG. 1. The combination signal or received signal at input 28 a in FIG. 1, in that case is given by equation (1) shown below: r(t)=f(t)*p(t)*q _(k)(t)+f(t)*p(t)*w _(c)(t)+n(t), H _(k) , k=1, 2, . . . , M,   (1) wherein the symbol “*” in equation (1) above represents the convolution operation. Convolution of two signals is defined as follows: a(t)*b(t)=∫a(t−r)b(r)dr. and wherein:

$\begin{matrix} {\left. {p(t)}\leftrightarrow{P(\omega)} \right. = {\int_{- \infty}^{+ \infty}{{p(t)}{\mathbb{e}}^{{- j}\;\omega\; t}\ {\mathbb{d}t}}}} & (2) \end{matrix}$ In equation (2) above the symbol “

” represents the Fourier transform pair.

The terms p(t)

P(ω) represent the impulse response of the transmitter filter 14 shown in FIG. 1. The transmitter filter 14 can be used to adjust the bandwidth constraint on the transmit signal f(t) 12. Typically the “Transmitter” is comprised of the transmit signal f(t) and the transmitter filter 14, wherein the transmit filter 14 has a transfer function of P(ω). In FIG. 1, w_(c)(t), and n(t) are random waveforms representing the transmit signal dependent interferences (clutter) and noise respectively. If G_(c)(ω) and G_(n)(ω) represent the clutter and noise power spectra, then from equation (1) G ₀(ω)=g _(n)(ω)+G _(c)(ω)|P(ω)|² |F(ω)|²   (3) represents the total interference power and f(t)

F(ω).

In accordance with a method of one or more embodiments of the present invention, first an appropriate stable whitening filter 204 shown in FIG. 3 is employed. The whitening filter 204 typically has a transfer function of L(jω) and is used to whiten the total interference. The whitening filter 204 converts the input colored noise spectrum to flat spectrum at the output. For example, an arbitrary frequency sensitive spectral shape at the input is converted to a flat level at the output by the whitening filter 204. The transfer function for the whitening filter 204 is determined by finding the minimum phase factor L(jω) corresponding to G₀(ω) in equation (3). Thus |L(jω)| ² =G _(n)(ω)+G _(c)(ω)|P(ω)|² |F(ω)|²,   (4) wherein L(jω) represents the Wiener factor and L⁻¹(jω) represents the whitening filter 204 of FIG. 3.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the combination or received signal at output 26 c of the summation device 26, is supplied to the whitening filter 204 at input 204 a shown in FIG. 3. The whitening filter 204 applies a transfer function L⁻¹(jω) to form a signal x(t) at an output 204 b of the whitening filter 204. The signal x(t) given by: x(t)=g _(k)(t)+w(t), k=1, 1, . . . , M,   (5) where g_(x)(t) represents the signal associated with the k-th target and w(t) the equivalent white noise. Thus g _(k)(t)

L ⁻¹(jω)Q _(k)(ω)P(ω)F(ω), k=1, 2, . . . , M,   (6) wherein q _(k)(t)

Q _(k)(ω), k=1, 2, . . . , M.

In accordance with the present invention, in one or more embodiments, an optimum receiver corresponding to the signal plus white noise case in equation (5) is a matched filter having a transfer function given by the equation (7) below: g _(k)(t ₀ −t) u(t), k=1, 2, . . . , M   (7) and this gives rise to the receiver structure and characteristics shown in the embodiment of FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 shows a filter or receiver structure 300 which can be used in place of the receiver 28 of FIG. 1. The filter or receiver structure 300 may be comprised of whitening filter 304 which can receive a signal r(t), such as the combination or received signal from output 26 c of the summation device 26 in FIG. 1. The filter structure 300 may also include filters 306, 308, 310, and 312, and a further number of filters, so that the total number of filters is typically equal to the number of targets M. Each filter has a transfer function. Filters 306, 308, 310, and 312 have transfer functions g₁(t₀−t), g₂(t₀−t), g_(k)(t₀−t), and g_(M)(t₀−t), respectively. The signal r(t) is modified by filter 304 and then is applied to inputs 306 a, 308 a, 310 a, and 312 a of filters 306, 308, 310, and 312, respectively, and inputs of a further number of filters not shown, with the total number (not including the whitening filter 304) typically equal to the number of targets M. First, second, third, and fourth further modified signals are output on outputs 306 b, 308 b, 310 b, and 312 b of the filters 306, 308, 310, and 312, respectively. FIG. 4 also shows switches 314, 316, 318, and 320 Switches 314, 316, 318, and 320 make sure that only one filter output of the outputs 306 b, 308 b, 310 b, and 312 b is active at one time.

From FIGS. 2 and 4, the optimum receivers or filters in the clutter and noise case is given by h _(k)(t)=l _(inv)(t)*g _(k)(t ₀ −t) u(t), k=1, 2, . . . , M,   (8) where l _(inv)(t)

L ⁻¹(jω).   (9)

Under H_(k), the matched filter outputs at t=t₀ are given by (details omitted):

$\begin{matrix} \begin{matrix} {y_{i} = \left. {{h_{i}(t)}*{q_{k}(t)}*{f(t)}*{p(t)}} \right|_{t = t_{0}}} \\ {= \left. {{g_{i}\left( {t_{0} - t} \right)}{u(t)}*{g_{k}(t)}} \right|_{t = t_{0}}} \\ {{= {\int_{0}^{t_{0}}{{g_{i}(t)}{g_{k}(t)}\ {\mathbb{d}t}}}},{i = 1},2,\ldots\mspace{14mu},{M.}} \end{matrix} & (10) \end{matrix}$

The following procedure or method can be referred to as an optimizing strategy:

When H_(k) is true, it is desirable that the k-th output y_(k) must be larger than any other output. As a result, we propose to maximize the following discriminant Λ_(k)=(y _(k) −y ₁)|_(H) _(k) + . . . +(y _(k) −y _(i))|_(H) _(k) + . . . +(y _(k) −y _(M))|_(H) _(k) , k=1, 2, . . . , M,   (11) for each k.

Combining all these discriminants we get

$\begin{matrix} {\Lambda = {\sum\limits_{k = 1}^{n}\;\Lambda_{k}}} & (12) \end{matrix}$ and the goal is to maximize Λ over the transmit waveform f(t). Substituting (10) into (11) and simplifying we get:

$\begin{matrix} \begin{matrix} {\eta = {\max{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{M}\;{\sum\limits_{k = 1}^{M}\;{\int_{0}^{t_{0}}{{{{g_{i}(t)} - {g_{k}(t)}}}^{2}\ {\mathbb{d}t}}}}}}} \\ {= {\max{\int_{0}^{T}{\int_{0}^{T}{\underset{\underset{\Omega_{M}({\tau_{1},\tau_{2}})}{︸}}{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{M}\;{\sum\limits_{\underset{i \neq k}{k = 1}}^{M}\;{\int_{0}^{t_{0}}{\Delta\;{s_{ik}\left( {t - \tau_{i}} \right)}\Delta\;{s^{*}\left( {t - \tau_{2}} \right)}\ {\mathbb{d}t}}}}}\ {f\left( \tau_{2} \right)}{f\left( \tau_{1} \right)}{\mathbb{d}\tau_{2}}\ {\mathbb{d}\tau_{1}}}}}}} \\ {{{= {{\max{\int_{0}^{T}{\left( {\int_{0}^{T}{{\Omega_{M}\left( {\tau_{1},\tau_{2}} \right)}{f\left( \tau_{2} \right)}\ {\mathbb{d}\tau_{2}}}} \right)\ {f\left( \tau_{1} \right)}{\mathbb{d}\tau_{1}}}}} \leq {\lambda_{k}E}}},}\;} \end{matrix} & (13) \end{matrix}$ where λ_(k) is the maximum eigenvalue of the integral equation

$\begin{matrix} {{{\int_{0}^{T}{{\Omega_{M}\left( {\tau_{1},\tau_{2}} \right)}{f_{k}\left( \tau_{2} \right)}{\mathbb{d}\tau_{2}}}} = {\lambda_{k}{f\left( \tau_{1} \right)}}},{0 < \tau_{1} < T},{k = 1},2,\ldots} & (14) \end{matrix}$ Here the nonnegative-definite kernel is given by

$\begin{matrix} {{{\Omega_{M}\left( {\tau_{1},\tau_{2}} \right)} = {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{M}\;{\sum\limits_{k = 1}^{M}\;\begin{matrix} \underset{︸}{\int_{0}^{t_{0}}{\Delta\;{s_{ik}\left( {t - \tau_{1}} \right)}\Delta\;{s_{ik}^{*}\left( {t - \tau_{2}} \right)}\ {\mathbb{d}t}}} \\ {W_{ik}\left( {\tau_{1},\tau_{2}} \right)} \end{matrix}}}},} & (15) \end{matrix}$ where Δs _(ik)(t)=s _(i)(t)−s _(k)(t).   (16) Here s _(i)(t)

L ⁻¹ (jω)Q _(k)(ω)P(ω), k=1, 2, . . . , M.   (17)

Optimum f(t) corresponds to the eigenvector associated with the largest eigenvalue in (14) and it maximizes the receiver or filter output associated with the actual target present in the data. A well known iterative procedure described in S. U. Pilai, H. S. Oh, D. C. Youla and J. R. Guerci, “Optimum Transmit-Receiver Design in the Presence of Signal-Dependent Interference and Channel Noise,” IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 577–584, March 2000, is used to solve for f(t) using equations (4) and equations (14)–(17).

In situations when target spectra are non-overlapping, a linear combination of eigenvectors in equation (14) weighted by the corresponding eigenvalues can be used as the optimum transmit waveform. This gives

$\begin{matrix} {{{f(t)} = {\sum\limits_{k = 1}^{m}\;{\lambda_{k}{f_{k}(t)}}}},} & (18) \end{matrix}$ where m can be a fixed number depending upon the number of targets or that depends on the significant number of eigenvalues in equation (14).

At least three methods in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention are provided for deciding the number of m dominant eigenvectors used in equation (18) for obtaining the optimum pulse. They are:

-   -   Method One: Compute the difference of the first and the twenty         fifth eigenvalues, divide that by four and subtract that         quantity from the first eigenvalue. Use the eigenvalue index         corresponding to this number to be m.     -   Method Two: Compute the mid point of 0 dB and the maximum         eigenvalue in dB. Use the corresponding eigenvalue index to be         m.     -   Method Three: A fixed number of eigenvectors (m=5 or 10 etc).         In cases where the above optimum f(t) is not acceptable in terms         of target separability, a weighted optimization procedure can be         used in equations (14)–(17) as follows. The following procedure         can be referred to as weighted optimization.         In equation (15) define

$\begin{matrix} {{W_{ik}\left( {\tau_{1},\tau_{2}} \right)} = {\int_{0}^{t_{0}}{\bullet\;{s_{ik}\left( {t - \tau_{1}} \right)}\bullet\;{s_{ik}^{*}\left( {t - \tau_{2}} \right)}{\mathbb{d}t}}}} & (19) \end{matrix}$ and modify (15) to read

$\begin{matrix} {{{\Omega_{M}\left( {\tau_{1},\tau_{2}} \right)} = {{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{M}{\alpha_{i}{\sum\limits_{k = 1}^{M}{W_{ik}\left( {\tau_{1},\tau_{2}} \right)}}}} = {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{M}\;{\alpha_{i}{\Omega_{i}\left( {\tau_{1},\tau_{2}} \right)}}}}},} & (20) \end{matrix}$ where

$\begin{matrix} {{\Omega_{i}\left( {\tau_{1},\tau_{2}} \right)} = {\sum\limits_{k = 1}^{M}{W_{ik}\left( {\tau_{1},\tau_{2}} \right)}}} & (21) \end{matrix}$ and α, are a set of constants to be determined. For a given set of α_(i), follow the procedure regarding optimizing strategy, starting with equation (11) and ending with equation (18) to obtain the desirable transmit waveform f(t). Using f(t) so obtained, compute:

$\begin{matrix} {r_{ij} = {\int_{0}^{T}{\int_{0}^{T}{{f\left( \tau_{1} \right)}{W_{ij}\ \left( {\tau_{1},\tau_{2}} \right)}{f^{*}\left( \tau_{2} \right)}{\mathbb{d}\tau_{1}}\ {\mathbb{d}\tau_{2}}}}}} & (22) \end{matrix}$ and update α_(i) to maximize the minimum among r_(ij) in equation (22). A description of a detailed implementation of the weighted optimization follows: The method implemented to perform the weighted optimization in equation (20) is an iterative reweighted method, and can be performed for example, by a computer processor which can weigh each of the matrices Ω_(i) by a weighting coefficient α_(i). For example of in the case of three targets: Ω_(M)=α₁Ω₁+α₂Ω₂+α₃Ω₃ where each matrix Ω_(i) is as defined in equation (21). The iterative method proceeds as follows:

-   -   a) Set all weights α_(i) to be equal and summing to unity.     -   b) Set         Ω_(M)=α₁Ω₁+α₂Ω₂+ . . . + α_(K)Ω_(K).     -   c) Set f to be the maximal eigenvector of Ω.     -   d) Compute         d_(i)=f^(T)Ω_(i)F         for i=1, . . . , K.     -   e) Identify which distance is minimum and set         D=min {d_(i)}.     -   f) Update weighing coefficients α_(i). Set candidate weighting         coefficients         α_(i) ^(′)=α_(i)         for i≠I.         α_(I) ^(′)=(1+β)α_(I)         where α>0.     -   g) Normalize all weighting coefficients α_(i) ^(′) so that they         sum to unity.     -   h) Set         Ω′=α₁ ^(′)Ω₁+α₂ ^(′)Ω₂ + . . . + α_(K) ^(′)Ω_(K).     -   i) Set f′ to be the maximal eigenvector of Ω′.     -   j) Compute         d_(i) ^(′)=f^(′T)Ω_(i)F^(′)         for i=1, . . . , K.     -   k) if the minimum of {d_(i) ^(′)} is greater than D then set         α_(i) ^(′)=α_(i)         and go to step (a). if the minimum of {d_(i) ^(′)} is not         greater than D then set α=α/2 and go to step f).         This iterative method produces a transmit pulse f(t) with         improved target identification performance.

The following example is provided merely to further illustrate one or more embodiments of the present invention. The scope of the invention is not limited to the example.

A four target scene example of the design of a transmit pulse f(t) for multiple target identification. As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the probability of classification is much higher in the case of the optimal transmit-receiver design strategy in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention than that achieved by a conventional chirp. Hence, when signal-dependent clutter is present and it is comparable to channel noise, in any target scene the chirp is almost invariably suboptimal.

FIG. 5A shows a collection of data 400 for one hundred simulation trials of receiver outputs for terminals or outputs 314 (for data set 401), terminal or output 316 (for data set 402), terminal or output 318 (for data set 403), and terminal or output 320 (for data set 404) using the proposed optimum transmit waveform described by equations (14) and 18 and the companion optimum receiver described by equation (8).

FIG. 5B shows a collection of data 500 for one hundred simulation trials of receiver outputs or terminals 314 (for data set 501), terminal or output 316 (for data set 502), terminal or output 318 (for data set 503), and terminal or output 320 (for data set 504) using a conventional chirp transmit waveform and the companion receiver described by equation (8).

FIG. 5A, shows a collection of data 400 for a target pool. The collection of data 400 includes data set 401, which includes a plurality of data items for a first target, wherein each of the data items is identified by a “*” symbol. Each of the “*” data items indicates a possible position of the first target as result of a particular experiment in one hundred simulation trials mentioned earlier. The plurality of data items with symbol “*” form the receiver output corresponding to the first target waveform.

The collection of data 400 also includes data set 402, which includes a plurality of data items for a second target, wherein each of the data items is identified by an “O” symbol. Each of the “O” data items indicates a position of the second target as result of a particular experiment in one hundred simulation trials mentioned earlier. The plurality of data items with symbol “O” form the receiver output corresponding to the second target waveform.

The collection of data 400 also includes data set 403, which includes a plurality of data items for a third target, wherein each of the data items is identified by an “x” symbol. Each of the “x” data items indicates a position of the third target as result of a particular experiment in one hundred simulation trials mentioned earlier. The plurality of data items with symbol “x” form the receiver output corresponding to the third target waveform.

The collection of data 400 also includes data set 404, which includes a plurality of data items for a fourth target, wherein each of the data items is identified by an “Δ” symbol. Each of the “Δ” data items indicates a position of the fourth target as result of a particular experiment in one hundred simulation trials mentioned earlier. The plurality of data items with symbol “Δ” form the receiver output corresponding to the fourth target waveform. In FIG. 5A, the unknown target 16 is excited by the proposed optimum transmit waveform. The target output 26 a is contaminated by colored noise 24 and clutter 18.

In FIG. 5B, the target pool is comprised of four possible waveforms. The unknown target 16 is excited by the conventional chirp transmit waveform. The target output 26 a is contaminated by colored noise 24 and clutter 18.

FIG. 5B, shows a collection of data 500 for a target pool. The collection of data 500 includes data set 501, which includes a plurality of data items for a first target, wherein each of the data items is identified by a “*” symbol. Each of the “*” data items indicates a possible position of the first target as result of a particular experiment in one hundred simulation trials mentioned earlier. The plurality of data items with symbol “*” form the receiver output corresponding to the first target waveform.

The collection of data 500 also includes data set 502, which includes a plurality of data items for a second target, wherein each of the data items is identified by an “O” symbol. Each of the “O” data items indicates a position of the second target as result of a particular experiment in the one hundred simulation trials mentioned earlier. The plurality of data items with symbol “O” form the receiver output corresponding to the second target waveform.

The collection of data 500 also includes data set 503, which includes a plurality of data items for a third target, wherein each of the data items is identified by an “x” symbol. Each of the “x” data items indicates a position of the third target as result of a particular experiment in the one hundred simulation trials mentioned earlier. The plurality of data items with symbol “x” form the receiver output corresponding to the third target waveform.

The collection of data 500 also includes data set 504, which includes a plurality of data items for a fourth target, wherein each of the data items is identified by an “Δ” symbol. Each of the “Δ” data items indicates a position of the fourth target as result of a particular experiment in the one hundred simulation trials mentioned earlier. The plurality of data items with symbol “Δ” form form the receiver output corresponding to the fourth target waveform.

Note that FIGS. 5A and 5B are for the same target pool, however different data occurs because a different transmit signal is used.

In FIGS. 5A and 5B the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) used is 0 dB and clutter-to-noise ratio (CNR) used is 10 dB. The percentage of classification error obtained in the case of optimum transmit pulse is 0% and in the case of the conventional chirp pulse is 39%.

The receiver (or filter) outputs (such as outputs 306 b, 308 b, 310 b, and 312 b) may be calibrated using target only inputs i.e. the ideal situation where only one target response, like the response from one aircraft without the presence of any noise or clutter. The calibration of the receiver filters may generate normalized receiver outputs. The normalized receiver output using each target only signal generates a multidimensional output vector that acts as the reference point on the display. The total number of such reference points will be the same as the number of targets in the pool. When clutter plus noise together with an unknown target response is presented to the receiver bank, the receiver outputs generate a new multidimensional vector. This vector is also plotted on the same screen along with all reference points and its closest neighbor among the reference points is declared as the actual target present in the data.

A method in accordance with the present invention may include displaying on a screen in two dimensional or three dimensional format the multidimensional display vectors. The multidimensional display vector may be displayed by being projected in the “target-only case” to obtain the reference points as well as the multidimensional vector generated in the actual data case (target response plus clutter plus noise) into two and three dimensions approximately. The final two and three dimensional projections are achieved using standard Gram-Schmidt procedure of the multidimensional data set.

Although the invention has been described by reference to particular illustrative embodiments thereof, many changes and modifications of the invention may become apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is therefore intended to include within this patent all such changes and modifications as may reasonably and properly be included within the scope of the present invention's contribution to the art. 

1. A method comprising: providing a transmit signal; modifying the transmit signal to form a modified transmit signal; sending the modified transmit signal out towards one or more targets, towards transmit signal dependent clutter, and towards transmit signal dependent interference and noise; receiving a combination signal back from the one or more targets, the transmit signal dependent clutter, and the transmit signal dependent interference and noise; supplying the combination signal to a whitening filter which whitens the total interference in the combination signal to form an altered combination signal; supplying the altered combination signal to a bank of filters comprised of a plurality of filters; and wherein the bank of filters includes a filter for each of the one or more possible targets.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of filters of the bank of filters has an input and an output; the altered combination signal is supplied to each input and an output signal is produced at each output of each of the plurality of filters; and wherein a target is identified by determining which filter's output signal has the greatest amplitude compared to the output signals of the other filters.
 3. A method comprising providing a whitening filter; providing a plurality of receivers, one receiver for each possible target of a pool of targets; transmitting a transmit signal towards a subject target, wherein the subject target is one of the targets of the pool of targets; wherein out of the pool of targets, only the subject target is present, such that the transmit signal interacts with the subject target to form part of a reflected signal; wherein the whitening filter receives the reflected signal back from the subject target and the whitening filter whitens the total interference in the reflected signal and thereby alters the reflected signal to provide an altered reflected signal and wherein each of the plurality of receivers receives the altered reflected signal and produces an output filter signal having an amplitude; wherein the reflected signal is comprised of a return signal reflected back from the subject target, transmit signal dependent clutter and interference, and noise; and wherein the subject target is identified by identifying the receiver having greatest output filter signal.
 4. The method of claim 3 wherein the pool of targets is comprised of a plurality of different individual targets.
 5. The method of claim 4 wherein the plurality of different individual targets are a plurality of different kinds of aircrafts.
 6. The method of claim 4 wherein the plurality of different individual targets is comprised of a plurality of different land based transportation vehicles.
 7. The method of claim 4 wherein the plurality of different individual targets includes a commercial airplane.
 8. The method of claim 4 wherein the plurality of different individual targets includes a plurality of missiles.
 9. The method of claim 7 wherein the plurality of different targets include a missile warhead and the plurality of different targets include a decoy.
 10. An apparatus comprising: a transmitter which sends out a transmit signal; wherein the transmit signal interacts with the subject target to form a target output reflected signal; wherein the subject target is one of a pool of targets; further comprising a whitening filter; further comprising a plurality of filters, one filter corresponding to each of the targets of the pool of targets; wherein the whitening filter receives the target output reflected signal and whitens the total interference in the target output reflected signal and thereby alters the target output reflected signal to provide an altered reflected signal; wherein each filter receives the altered reflected signal and produces an output filter signal having an amplitude; and wherein the subject target can be identified by identifying which filter has an output filter signal with the greatest amplitude among the plurality of filters.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein each of the plurality of filters of the bank of filters has an input and an output; a combination signal, comprised of the reflected signal, a clutter signal and a noise signal is supplied to the whitening filter.
 12. A method comprising: providing a transmit signal; modifying the transmit signal to form a modified transmit signal; sending the modified transmit signal out towards one or more targets, towards transmit signal dependent clutter, and towards transmit signal dependent interference and noise; receiving a combination signal back from the one or more targets, the transmit signal dependent clutter, and the transmit signal dependent interference and noise; supplying the combination signal to a bank of filters comprised of a plurality of filters; wherein the bank of filters includes a filter for each of the one or more possible targets; and wherein a following first equation defined the transmit signal; ${{f(t)} = {\sum\limits_{k = 1}^{m}{\lambda_{k}{f_{k}(t)}}}},$ wherein f(t) is the transmit signal, wherein m is a fixed number depending upon the number of targets; wherein λ_(k) is the k-th maximum eigenvalue of a following second equation: ∫₀^(T)Ω_(M)(τ₁, τ₂)f_(k)(τ₂)𝕕τ₂ = λ_(k)f_(k)(τ₁), 0 < τ₁ < T, k = 1, 2, … wherein f_(k)(t) is an eigenvector associated with the k-th largest eigenvalue λ_(k) of the second equation: where ${{\Omega_{M}\left( {\tau_{1},\tau_{2}} \right)} = {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{M}\;{\sum\limits_{k = 1}^{M}\;\begin{matrix} \underset{︸}{\int_{0}^{t_{0}}{\Delta\;{s_{ik}\left( {t - \tau_{1}} \right)}\Delta\;{s_{ik}^{*}\left( {t - \tau_{2}} \right)}\ {\mathbb{d}t}}} \\ {W_{ik}\left( {\tau_{1},\tau_{2}} \right)} \end{matrix}}}},$ wherein Δs_(ik)(t)=s_(i)(t)−s_(k)(t); wherein t is time, M=the number of targets, k is an index that ranges from 1 to M, wherein τ₁ is a variable from 0 to τ₀, τ₂ is a variable from 0 to t₀, W_(ik)(τ₁, τ₂) is a kernal function, t₀ is the decision instant; and a Fourier transform S_(i)(ω) of s_(i)(t) satisfies: s _(i)(ω)=L ⁻¹(jω)Q _(i)(ω)P(ω), i=1, 2, . . . , M; wherein L(jω) is the minimum phase whitening filter who's Fourier transform magnitude |L(jω)| satisfies: |L(jω)|² =G _(c)(ω)|P(ω)|² |F(ω)|² +G _(n)(ω); wherein G_(c)(ω): is a clutter spectrum; wherein G_(n)(ω): is a noise spectrum; wherein P(ω): is a fourier transform of the transmitter output filter; wherein F(ω): is a fourier transform of f(t) in first equation; wherein Q(ω): is a fourier transform of the target waveform q_(i)(t), i=1, 2, . . . , M; and wherein the first and second equations are implemented iteratively.
 13. The method of claim 12 wherein m is an integer determined by computing the difference between the first eigenvalue λ₁ and the twenty fifth eigenvalue λ₂₅, dividing that difference with another integer to obtain a first result, subtracting that first result from the first eigenvalue λ₁ to obtain a second result and using an eigenvalue index corresponding to the second result for the number m.
 14. The method of claim 12 wherein m is determined by computing the mid point of 0 decibels and the maximum eigen value in decibels for the first equation 14, and using the corresponding eigen value index for the number m.
 15. The method of claim 12 wherein m is set to a constant positive integer.
 16. A method comprising: providing a transmit signal; modifying the transmit signal to form a modified transmit signal; sending the modified transmit signal out towards one or more targets and towards clutter and noise; receiving a combination signal back from the one or more targets and from the clutter and noise; supplying the combination signal to a bank of filters comprised of a plurality of filters; and wherein the bank of filters includes a filter for each of the one or more possible targets; and wherein a following first equation defines the transmit signal; ${{f(t)} = {\sum\limits_{k = 1}^{m}{\lambda_{k}{f_{k}(t)}}}},$ wherein f(t) is the transmit signal, wherein m is a fixed number depending upon the number of targets; wherein λ_(k) is the k-th largest eigenvalue of a following second equation: ∫₀^(T)Ω_(M)(τ₁, τ₂)f_(k)(τ₂)𝕕τ₂ = λ_(k)f_(k)(τ₁), 0 < τ₁ < T, k = 1, 2, … wherein f_(k)(t) is an eigenvector associated with the k-th largest eigenvalue λ_(k) of the above equation; wherein ${{\Omega_{M}\left( {\tau_{1},\tau_{2}} \right)} = {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{M}\;{\sum\limits_{k = 1}^{M}\;\begin{matrix} \underset{︸}{\int_{0}^{t_{0}}{\Delta\;{s_{ik}\left( {t - \tau_{1}} \right)}\Delta\;{s_{ik}^{*}\left( {t - \tau_{2}} \right)}\ {\mathbb{d}t}}} \\ {W_{ik}\left( {\tau_{1},\tau_{2}} \right)} \end{matrix}}}},;$ wherein Δs_(ik)(t)=s_(i)(t)−s_(k)(t); wherein t is time, M=the number of targets, τ₁ is a variable from 0 to t₀, τ₂ is a variable from 0 to t₀, W_(ik)(τ₁, τ₂) is a kernal function, and t₀ is the decision instant; and wherein W_(ik)(τ₁, τ₂) = ∫₀^(t₀)• s_(ik)(t − τ₁)• s_(ik)^(*)(t − τ₂)𝕕t. 